What are Link Exchange Systems in SEO?

Link Exchange - definition

Link exchange refers to a platform through which website owners can gain paid access to several websites which are generally of low quality. Through these websites, they can gain several backlinks which lead to a particular site. One can access the exchange HTML code by registering. In simple words, it can be referred to as the practice that involves the exchange of links between different websites. You can insert the link of some other website on your webpage and in exchange, they will return the favor to you by inserting your website’s link on their webpage.

A central organization or platform is used by webmasters to access links. They have to register on the platform and it will perform the exchange of the links for the website through the HTML code. Link exchange takes place when two website owners or brands agree to trade or exchange links to boost their site authority and SEO performance.

Types of link exchange systems

There are two basic types of link exchange systems which are as follows:

1. Dynamic-link exchange: In this kind of link exchange, there is a random distribution of the links. Following this, the website owners exchange pages related to the system after a few days.
2. Static link exchange: In this link exchange type, there is a permanent assignment of links to a particular page until their removal or until you stop the service’s payment.

Is exchanging links a good SEO practice?

There are many prominent webmasters using link exchanges to increase the significance of their websites. Despite this, a feeling of uncertainty still lingers in the air for many website owners regarding the legitimacy of its implementation. If you have come across the advice of many traditional SEO experts who do not believe much in link building, they may not have a positive opinion about the implementation of link exchanges. For years, this practice has been a highly debatable topic in the search engine optimization sphere. Many experts may refrain from this use while many others, particularly those who rely heavily on link building, can be seen incorporating its use prominently.

According to the Webmaster Guidelines set by Google, implementing link exchanges seo to an excessive extent is against their terms and policies but keep in mind that it uses the word excessive. This means that a certain number of link exchanges won’t do much harm to your website or won’t make it seem like your website is violating the guidelines set by the search engine. This is because there may be times when websites may have to link to each other’s webpage naturally. For instance, if your website is running a giveaway and the product is available online, it becomes necessary for you to link to that particular product page or website. In such situations, the absence of link exchanges will not make the content inefficient but it will also hamper the user experience which is not something Google desires.

You must bear in mind that Google is an algorithm based on machine learning. Hence, if you are naturally using exchanged links, the search engine will not be able to point out the difference between a natural link exchange and a manufactured link exchange.

Link Exchanges can hurt your domains authority

Many website owners use reciprocal links to generate increased website traffic, improve site authority, and also boost their search engine optimization performance. In the early 2000s, this was a fairly common practice. However, in recent years, it has been labeled as ‘traded’ or ‘exchanged’ links. Even though they may have witnessed a bit of a downfall in their popularity, they are still used commonly by many website owners. In fact, link exchange systems can be related to the natural byproduct of website operation.

There is no denying that using link exchanges to a great extent can hurt your domain authority because it is displaying that you are incorporating a practice that is against Google’s guidelines and policies. However, as mentioned above, Google also stresses the term ‘excessive’ to indicate that exchanging links to a certain extent is natural and cannot hurt your website’s performance or Google’s functioning.

Developing reciprocal links through linking sources without any personal expectations through authentic outreach is always the better route to gain reciprocal links naturally and avoid the hassle of hurting or negatively impacting your domain’s authority. to avoid engaging in risky link exchange practices, here are some tips you can consider.

Tips for safe link exchanging

• Offer valuable and high-quality content on your website so that even if you exchange links and gain traffic through backlinks, users can gain an insightful experience through their visit. It should not seem like they have been click-baited.

• If you want to establish your website as a reliable source of information, links to high-quality content are essential. When you are aiming to boost your site’s ranking, your main focus may be on generating increased reciprocal links but you can gain traffic even with a few backlinks that are of good quality. Therefore, remember to place quality before quantity.

• When exchanging links through exchanging links seo, it is critical to ensure that you are trading links with a high-authority website. To confirm this, you can check the search engine optimization metrics of the website particularly if you are looking to request reciprocation.

What is a Google Manual Action?

Google Manual Action refers to the action that Google can take against a website. It is a manual action that can be issued by the search engine against a website if the webpages on the website are determined to be non-compliant with the quality of the webmaster guidelines set by Google. This complaint can be made to Google by a human reviewer. The human reviewer also can issue an automated penalty or manual penalty which is applied on the concerned website after the complaint. This can result in the web page ranking lower as compared to its previous ranking and can hurt the website’s overall performance.

Google administers this action when they find that a site is trying to manipulate their search index through link exchanges seo practice. Because they are devoted to delivering high-quality and relevant user experience, they are focused on implementing guidelines and policies that do not hamper the quality of user experience negatively.

Does exchanging links count as black hat SEO?

Black hat SEO refers to a search engine optimization practice that violates the guidelines set by search engines. It is often implemented to enable a website to rank higher on the search results page. The incorporation of black hat SEO can lead the search engine to issue a penalty against the website which can consequently hurt their ranking and online presence. Some of the most prevalent black hat SEO techniques are article spinning, keyword stuffing, excessive link exchanging, duplicate content, cloaking, doorway pages, and hidden pages to name a few.

Exchanging links to a great extent is a bad practice in the eyes of Google. The search engine is strictly against the implementation of buying and selling links. It has been explicitly stated in their Webmaster Guidelines that if any link tries to manipulate the ranking metrics set by the search engine and comes across as part of a link scheme, it will be regarded as a violation of Google’s terms and conditions. Therefore, there is no denying that link exchanges fall into the practice of black hat SEO to some extent. Google recognizes that sometimes, using backlinks is an inevitable need, and therefore, it is a natural requirement and occurrence. However, it does not tolerate the excessive implementation of the same.

Bottom Line

Using link exchanges in moderation is not a bad practice. However, at the same time, many website owners tend to overuse it which leads search engines to take action against their website. This can result in the concerned website’s ranking decreasing and this can lead to a reduction in the website’s traffic. Low traffic can harm the overall performance of the website.

While search engines do have strict policies against the dominant exchanges of links and the use of black hat SEO, naturally using reciprocal links can produce effective and positive results for your website. Therefore, exchanging links must be done with alertness. Avoid using it as a core link-building strategy. When you start getting more requests for reciprocal links, the opportunity may feel highly tempting but you must ensure that the link is relevant to your website and your traffic can gain some value from it. In this way you can use the reciprocal links to your website’s advantage.